the journey of a twentysomething in New York City living with type 1 diabetes

Thing that make me happy #2: Books

May 1, 2009

I wavered back and forth on this edition of “Things that make me happy.” At first, I wrote “books.” But then I thought, well, isn’t it more like reading? Don’t I enjoy reading? I read a lot of different kinds of things – magazines, blogs, newspapers, and regular books. But then I thought, no, actually, I really do like books.

I like way books feel when I hold them, especially a nice, smooth cover. I like the smell of a used bookstore. I like the smell of musty pages of old books. I like the quiet, sereneness of a library. I like fonts and cover designs (I’m closet graphics geek). I like the old worldness of reading a book, of knowing that I’m doing something that people have been doing for hundreds of years. Reading a book.

I just finished Middlesex last night. It’s a brilliant book. I really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say it’s my absolute favoritest book in the entire world, but it’s definitely good. It is, like many would say, a book that’s unlike any I’ve read. Without giving too much away, it’s a book about a girl who become a boy – a hermaphrodite who doesn’t know it until she’s a teenager. But it’s also about how her family, society and politics play a role in who she was and who he becomes. It’s also a unique narrative, since the narrator is first-person omniscient, clearly telling you facts and anecdotes that most of us would not be able to glean if we were in the same circumstances. The narrator literally goes in and out of the heads of the characters at will, which is interesting, if not a bit strange.

Now I’ve started Mary Tyler Moore’s book, which so far is pretty good. I plan on writing a review as soon as I’m finished.

I don’t read as often as I could or should. Some people I know can read a book a week, but that has never been me, not even in my prime before college sucked the joy of reading right out of me. But there are so many stories that have been written that I owe myself to read. I very much enjoy getting all sorts of recommended reading suggestions. I fully plan to revisit the Twitter Thursday post on books as soon as I run out of unread books on my bookshelf.

I happened to come across your blog when bloghopping through some others… and I really like it! This particular entry struck a chord in me. I LOVE books too. Call me old school or old-fashioned, but nothing beats the feeling of a paperback in my hand. (I am also not ashamed to admit, I like the smell of books too. :))